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Reflections

Monday, January 16, 2012

Prayers, Tears, and Automobiles

Buying a used car is a daunting task under any circumstance but buying a used car as a young, single, trusting woman, took intimidation to a new level. Of course, this car needed to be affordable, reliable, have low mileage, be safe, fuel efficient, but truth be told,it also needed to be cute. I wasn’t asking for Cabrio- cute--just something you wouldn’t find the ladies who play bridge driving. Living in a large metropolitan area, the issue was not the lack of selection but the over-abundance of candidates, spread across a 50 mile radius.

Over a period of several days, I paged through thousands of ads, highlighted, circled the ones that caught my eye, and left dozens of messages until, inevitably, I came down with a bad case of decision-paralysis. Exhausted and glazed-over I gave up and accepted the invitation to the pity party that had been delivered to my heart soon after the search began. Why couldn’t I have a husband like everyone else? Why did my father have to live so far away? Why did I have to go through this alone?

After the lights were out on the party for one, I decided to do some business with God. I said something like, “God, clearly this is not a job for a woman to do alone. How am I supposed to know who is being honest with me, or whether the newer car with higher mileage is better than the older car with lower mileage? You said, YOU would be the father to the fatherless and the husband to the husbandless! And that’s me, so today I’m asking you to do your thing. If you want me to have a car then you’re going to have to bring it to me! Amen.”

The next day I awoke with a sense of peace that God would in fact guide me in my search and give me wisdom. So, with renewed hope I searched the ads again and called about a car that I’d seen before but hadn’t yet acted on. Surprised, the owner answered right away. After she passed a few preliminary questions about the car, I asked her where I could see the car that day. Bracing myself for her answer, I practically jumped out of my chair when she told me where she worked—just a 2 minute walk from where I worked! On my break I went to her workplace to see the car. When
she greeted me, I smiled—I owned a blouse exactly like the one she was wearing. I thought to myself: it’s a sign (albeit much more colorful and stylish than typical signs. I love it when God speaks to me in my love-language!). Though I was tempted to sign over the check on the spot, I decided I should actually look at the car. I did the typical single-girl, check: I looked for rust, scratches, and dents, checked to see if there was a driver-side interior mirror, and looked under the hood to make sure there was some stuff there. The car passed—even the cuteness test. It was a red coupe, with a sunroof. I was definitely falling in love, but in a moment of clarity I decided I should arrange for a professional inspection before driving off into the sunset.

The inspection report came back to me later that day and there were no concerns so I called and let the owner know that I’d like a second date—I mean, look. Well, the next day I was particularly busy at work and because I was hosting a “jewelry party” in my home that evening I could not squeeze in a car viewing and a pricey decision. So, on my way home from work I quickly pinned a note to the car saying that I’d be in touch soon. I realized that I was risking her selling the car to someone else over the weekend, but trusted that if I “set it free” that it would come back to me, if it was meant to be.

Once home, I had just a couple hours to get ready before my guests would arrive. I really didn’t know who to expect –new to the city, I hadn’t made many real friends yet, but I had gone door to door in my complex to invite some neighbors. About fifteen minutes before the party began I, got a call from a neighbor whom I met for the first time knocking on her door a week earlier. She said, “I’m coming, but I’m going to be a few minutes late because I’m bringing a friend who lives across town”. I was so excited that this party wasn’t going to be a total bust!

When my neighbor and her friend finally showed up, I welcomed them inside. Once inside, I looked up at the friend and she looked at me, and we both appeared to be thinking the same thing: haven’t I met you before? Then, suddenly, it dawned on me: “I looked at your car yesterday!” She said, “Yes!! Well, it’s here, do you want it?!!”

Needless to say, I made arrangements to buy the car the next day—the car that my heavenly father and husband brought to my door step, all because He loves me. And He loves you, too!

1 Comments:

Blogger Judy Webb said...

What a delightful story of God's caring heart. You write so well, I was engaged from beginning to end. I was pulled in by the simpleness of the testimony. While many of us might experience a similar situation, few of us would recognize it for what it is...God working in our lives. Thanks for that reminder today.

January 16, 2012 at 10:47 AM  

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